No One's Puppet
by SilverKnight
Summary: Vignette A short story about the life of the one, the only, Mayor Domino. Why must the bunnies persist?


Disclaimer: No, Final Fantasy VII doesn't belong to me, or else I'd be doing something a lot better with my time. Like, playing Final Fantasy IX and X. :D  
  
--:blinks: Where the hell did *this* come from?? :blinks again:--  
  
--No One's Puppet--  
By: SiverKnight  
  
Okay, so maybe I'm a bit crazy.  
  
That's what will happen when you're stuck in the higher levels of a fortress for a skyscraper for sixteen hours a day, seven days a week, guarding a miserable library for God only knows what reason. But, hey, that's Shinra for you.  
  
Don't know who I am? Well, then, allow me to introduce myself. Mayor Hector Domino, at your service. Or rather, I *would* be at your service, if my title actually *meant* something. Ah, well, no such business thinking about things like that, now is there?  
  
Personally, I'm glad I hold no position of power; I'm a bad decision maker. (I'm here, aren't I?) After all, everyone in Midgar knows that I'm only the leader of a puppet government, and that I have been for years. I suppose I should be more upset by this, but I'm not. I've lived most of my life under Shinra Inc., and while I'm not—shh, not so loud—while I'm not so particularly happy about it, it's a fact of life I've been forced to live with. It's a simple enough rule, really. Live under Shinra, or die. Wutai has figured this out, those poor people. Ah, well, no point reminiscing about what you can't change.  
  
Take, for instance, those young people from that strange little group called AVALANCHE. Not only had they infiltrated the upper levels of this building, they'd actually managed to get past me, although, I'm not surprised by this. I'm also a bad fighter, and I'm an even worse tactician. (Note that I'm guarding a library.) However, during all this, some small rebellious part of me hoped, rather, prayed for them to succeed. I suppose it didn't actually work if they'd gotten imprisoned. Ah, well, best not to judge them on that simple mistake, hm?  
  
I had been lucky enough to hide behind one of the bookshelves when I saw what looked like General Sephiroth marching through the hallway, dragging some awful, headless abomination behind him. I found it hard not to vomit from the sight. By some miracle, he'd either not seen me, or found me to be too insignificant to eliminate. Either way, it appeared that I alone survived that massacre, and I ran for the exit as fast as I could, which actually wasn't that fast. I'm not that fit, either. Even now, I can't quite understand how it is that Sephiroth survived, given the fact that he was supposed to be *dead*, but then, one exactly can't trust Shinra, now can they?  
  
I disappeared into the streets, leaving behind my ID keycard and all my belongings. I wasn't exactly concerned with them, especially when there were Shinra soldiers ready to shoot on sight, regardless of who you were. (And, again, I hold no position of power, so killing me would have meant nothing.) For the first time in a long while, I'd felt…free. Or, rather, slightly more so. I wasn't Mayor Domino, the puppet, or Mayor Domino the pawn. I was simply Hector, and I could do as I wished. Okay, so maybe I couldn't do what I wished, but it was better than being in the spotlight. Besides, being in the spotlight is bad for my complexion. I burn easily. Ah, well, it's not like you get much sunlight in the slums, anyway.  
  
At first, I was terrified of everything I saw. I kept waking up in the middle of the night, thinking that the Turks were right behind me, ready to kill me for deserting them. Then, suddenly, one night I had an epiphany; they never needed me in the first place. My position was simply to appease the people stupid enough to actually think they were in a democracy. Once that finally came to my attention, I felt no more fear of repercussions from Shinra. They didn't control me anymore.  
  
The next thing I did after leaving Shinra? Even now, I don't believe it. I actually became a volunteer for a homeless shelter in the slums. The place is always packed with malnourished people, who have obviously lost the will to live. It's sad to see, but it's a far cry from seeing the Turks pacing about like caged tigers. I feel…happy, here. I'm not in the spotlight, and I'm not the leader, but for once, I *am* helping. Little as it may be, I'm making a difference. Insignificant as General Sephiroth may have seen me, I'm twenty times more valuable here than I ever was in the Shinra building. I'm no one's puppet here. And that suits me just fine.  
  
--There ya go!-- 


End file.
